\chapter*{Acknowledgements}

In the first place I want to thank my advisor Reinhard Pichler for his guidance, support and inspiration during the time I was working on this thesis. I am also very grateful for his team at DBAI. In particular, I want to thank Emanuel Sallinger and Mantas Simkus for their great advice and ideas. They have spent an unbelievable amount of time discussing and finalizing this thesis with me. Furthermore, I am very glad that Diego Calvanese joined our team. His knowledge and insights on Description Logics was helpful in many areas. \\

\noindent During my time as a student at the University of Vienna and the Technical University of Vienna I met exceptionally supportive people that have driven my interest and knowledge in various scientific fields. As a representative for all who I have met, I want to thank Arndt von Haeseler and all members of his group at the Center for Integrative Bioinformatics Vienna for their support and friendship. \\

\noindent Last, but most importantly, my gratitude goes to my friends and my family. To my parents Helga and Martin, who have always encouraged me to pursue my personal goals and made my academic studies possible. To Kerstin, for her patience during the days in which it has not been easy with me. Especially, in situations where academia was more important to me than anything else, I have always encountered tolerance for my work. \\

\noindent Dankesch\"on.

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\noindent This research is supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF):P25207-N23.